2011 Media Releases

Sturm College of Law 2011 Law Stars

Feb. 9, 2011—The University of Denver (DU) Sturm College of Law (SCOL) has named its Law Stars recipients for 2011. They will be honored at a gala event on Sept. 21 at the Hyatt Regency Denver at the Colorado Convention Center.

Since 1993, DU Law Stars has recognized distinguished alumni and faculty for their achievements. The event includes a light-hearted, personal commemorative video of each honoree, recounting accomplishments both professional and personal.

Receiving awards this year are:

Howard Kenison, JD'72, Outstanding Alumni Award:

Kenison chairs the Environment, Natural Resources, and Climate Change practice group at the Denver law firm Lindquist & Vennum. His environmental practice focuses on regulatory and litigation cases before state and federal courts and administrative agencies. He is the former Colorado Deputy Attorney General in charge of Colorado's Superfund Litigation Section and a past chair of the American Bar Association's Standing Committee on Environmental Law. He has been named to the Super Lawyers list three times, was the SCOL Distinguished Natural Resources Practitioner-in-Residence in 2010, and was named Law Week Colorado's Attorney of the Year in 2009. He is recognized this year by the national peer-review publication Best Lawyers.

Charles "Chuck" Goldberg, JD'64, Alumni Professionalism Award:

Goldberg is a partner with the law firm Rothgerber Johnson & Lyons, where he has been since 1978. Prior to that, he worked in private practice for 10 years before being appointed (and re-elected) as a 34 year old judge with the Denver District Court. Goldberg represents plaintiffs and defendants in complex civil litigation, religious liberty issues, condemnations, professional liability actions, personal injury lawsuits, and probate disputes. He represents numerous religious organizations, colleges, and universities in litigation in Colorado and throughout the United States and regularly serves as a mediator and arbitrator. He is in his 11th year serving as chairman of the Colorado Supreme Court Board of Trustees of the Colorado Attorneys' Fund for Client Protection and in 2010 received the Civis Princeps Award from Regis College and the Benemerenti ("To a Well Deserving Person") Medal, granted by Pope Benedict XVI. Goldberg has also been recognized by Super Lawyers, Best Lawyers and Chambers USA for his excellent legal skills and outstanding service to clients.

Alan Chen, Robert B. Yegge Excellence in Teaching Award:

Chen has been with the SCOL since 1992, rising from assistant professor to professor and associate dean for faculty scholarship. A 1985 Stanford Law graduate, he is a nationally recognized expert in constitutional law, federal courts and civil rights litigation. He pursues research in a variety of fields, including federal remedies for civil rights violations, free speech doctrine and theory, and lawyering for social change. He has published numerous scholarly articles in national publications and serves on the University Strategic Planning for Research Task Force on Scholarship, and on the Higher Learning Commission (HLC) Accreditation Steering Committee, & HLC Acquisition Discovery, and Application of Knowledge Working Group. For the academic year 2007-2008, he was named Outstanding Faculty Member by the SCOL Student Bar Association.

Carroll is a former Speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives. He has been an attorney with the Greenberg Traurig law firm since December 2007. He provides strategic counsel and advice to help clients achieve their business objectives in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. He also represents clients in a range of issues related to election and campaign finance regulations. He was named one of 2010's 50 Most Influential People in Denver by 5280 magazine; received the Power Book Industry Leader Award in Law from the Denver Business Journal in 2009; received the People's Choice award as Best Lawyer Turned Legislator in the 2009 Barrister's Best list for Law Week Colorado; and was named by Law Week Colorado as one of the Lawyers of the Year in 2008. He is an also an adjunct professor at the Sturm College of Law teaching Legislative Process.